Increasing demand for thinner foil used in the flexible packaging sector is driving guarded optimism that the recession is easing in the aluminium industry, said a trade association.
The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) said increasing demand for thinner alufoil for flexible packaging applications and for household foil, saw production jump by more than 11 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the same period last year. Overall 2009 production figures for thinner gauges showed a slight increase of 0.3 per cent on 2008.
The body said the figures gave it “grounds for cautious optimism” and there was “evidence that recessionary influences are softening”.
Total aluminium output from EAFA members for 2009 was 768,600 tonnes – a year-on-year fall of five per cent. But the group said the final quarter of 2009 showed some signs of recovery at 199,400 tonnes, a rise of 9.3 per cent on the same period in 2008. Even so, demand for thicker foil fell 16 per cent in 2009 compared to 2008 – although there were also signs of improvement in this segment in the last quarter.
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